Ahead of Exchange Square’s official opening later this year, the mixed-use development – of namely office and retail purposes – in Phnom Penh has already bagged some big-name tenants, and is confident more will follow.
In February, Hongkong Land announced it had leased an undisclosed office unit space to CIMB Bank – a leading ASEAN bank internationally located in 18 countries, and one that has been in Cambodia’s banking industry since 2010. The new CIMB Bank’s headquarters will be at Hongkong Land’s Exchange Square building, which is scheduled for completion in late 2016.
Since then, another big-brand multinational has parroted the move; World Bank is also now a confirmed tenant, according to Angelique Tan, senior leasing executive for Hongkong Land.
High-profile companies entering the Kingdom’s still-unsaturated business and financial markets are on the search for quality office buildings. According to Tan, Hongkong Land has an esteemed reputation for building high-quality office space.
“Hongkong Land is highly regarded for its quality of construction, property management and client services in Asia, [thus] applying the same industry leading standards and skills to Exchange Square,” she said.
Tan added that the building has been gaining significant interest and awareness in the market since they started to pre-let office spaces.
According to Robert Garman, executive director of Hongkong Land, major organisations such as CIMB Bank are on the lookout to establish offices in Phnom Penh’s emerging financial district.
Situated at Sangkat Wat Phnom at Norodom, the capital’s current business district where many major banks such as Canadia Bank and Vattanac Capital are also located, Exchange Square has “naturally received high interest from the sectors of banks, financial institutions, and professional services,” Tan said.
While there is yet to be one definite central business district in Phnom Penh, CIMB’s move to a bigger and better building may prompt a slew of other multinational firms to follow suit. CEO of CIMB Cambodia, Bun Yin, said: “It is favourable from a corporate premise branding perspective to occupy space at Exchange Square due to the positioning of the building”.
